100 (?) Most Confusing/Unclear Rules

[kolikeos]

How about writing how those things do work instead of just mentioning that they are confusing? that would be of great help, instead of someone starting a thread about every one of those confusing rules, this here can be a compilation of comfusing rules plus theirs dis-confusation.

Of course... I supposed that is what the FAQ is for...

 

[Brother MacLaren]

How about writing how those things do work instead of just mentioning that they are confusing? that would be of great help, instead of someone starting a thread about every one of those confusing rules, this here can be a compilation of comfusing rules plus theirs dis-confusation.

Well, this originated on the thread about DM ruling styles -- literalist vs. interpreter. So "how those things do work" is often up to the DM's judgement.

Perhaps "20 common errors" is one thread, where there are really clear issues that are common DM mistakes. And "80 judgement calls you should make ahead of time" is another.

 

[RigaMortus2]

How about writing how those things do work instead of just mentioning that they are confusing? that would be of great help, instead of someone starting a thread about every one of those confusing rules, this here can be a compilation of comfusing rules plus theirs dis-confusation.

Of course... I supposed that is what the FAQ is for...

Because some of them are very clear, and others are not, so they have to be ruled on and judged on a per campaign basis. Does Cleave work off of an AoO? By the rules, yes. Would some DMs disallow it? Probably. But there are other questions, such as Does Mind Blank render you immune to See Invisible" which has no clear precise answer which can be debated to at length, so there is no way to give a clear answer of how it should be ruled.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

How about writing how those things do work instead of just mentioning that they are confusing? that would be of great help, instead of someone starting a thread about every one of those confusing rules, this here can be a compilation of comfusing rules plus theirs dis-confusation.

Of course... I supposed that is what the FAQ is for...

Well, I think part of the point is that many of these rules are not merely confusing but truely ambiguous. Many will be resolved as much according to the DMs feel of balance and tone as for "correctness" (twf questions) and some are basicly house rules that the DM feels are so obvious he doesn't say them till they come up. (Godless clerics.)

In the latter catagory I would add "Do you follow the DMG guidelines on item availablity for variously sized settlements, or will purchasing be contrained by social and economic factors of your particular world? If constrained, how, and will social skills be of aid in getting equipment that isn't readily for sale?"

 

[glass]

Why does a monk that takes two ranks of Improved Natural Attack have his damage drop from 11th level to 12th level?

Can you explain your question a bit more? INA is not a skill; it doesn't have ranks, so I am not sure what you mean.


glass.

 

[James McMurray]

I believe he's wondering why, when a GM allows you to break the rules and apply INA twice to a monk's unarmed attacks, weird things happen. I'm not quite sure that rules which do weird things when broken should appear on the list.

 

[Deset Gled]

I believe he's wondering why, when a GM allows you to break the rules and apply INA twice to a monk's unarmed attacks, weird things happen. I'm not quite sure that rules which do weird things when broken should appear on the list.

Well, the source of the question is obviously a few steps away from the RAW, but it does highlight an interesting artifact of the damage system. There are many different tables that exist for advancing damage dice, and most of them have at least a couple of points that differ from others.

A better question would probably be: Which tables do you use to advance damage due to size increase? For example, when INA is applied to a monk (assuming this is allowed), do you follow the table for monk damage and just go up one level, use the table for monks of larger size, or use the standard weapon size adjustment table? What do you do in the odd cases where increasing damage dice actually results in a lower average damage?

 

[Nail]

Good list so far! Here's a few (misc) others:

What happens on a roll of Nat 1, or Nat 20 on an attack roll? (House rules often include annoying critical miss rules here. Yuck.)

When (and how often) do PCs roll Spot and Listen checks? (PCs should get to roll as soon as they might notice hidden creatures. For creatures that are not hidden, no roll is necessary.)

How much damage does a size large (or larger) creature take from a web spell that's burning? (2d4 fire damage...not 2d4 fire damage per square they occupy.)

Does a cleric with the travel domain (effectively) ignore grapple attempts? (No. The travel domain power is only effective against magical effects that impede movement. )